It's a Steve Life
by JustAWhatsIt
Summary: Steve is an awkward Detective at the 12th Precinct in NYC.  He finally has the chance to work with the city's Finest Detective.  Nothing can get in his way... Right?


**Disclaimer: All the rights to Steve go to Gaby - Agentgabs. The rest of the Characters aren't mine, as you all probably guessed! **

**My idea for this came from the Castle re-watch on the Monday between Kill Shot and Cuffed and I decided to go with it and see where it went. I hope you like it, and I really hope that Steve is what everyone else pictured.**

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><p><em>Ring ring…Ring ring…<em>

Steve sat bolt right up on his bed. His hand instantly went to his ear, giving it a hard rub as the ringing grew louder. His sore, tired eyes began to blink rapidly as they tried to adjust to the complete darkness that enveloped him. Steve couldn't see a thing but he could still here the ringing and was finding it difficult at this late hour to even work out where it was coming from.

_Ring ring…Ring ring..._The noise came again as his foot fell from the bed, landing on the cool of the hardwood floor. Steve cocked his head to the side, as if trying to let trapped water flow, with no luck.

Suddenly, Steve sprung from the bed and tore across the room. "Good dammit," he mumbled loudly to himself and the rest of the empty room. "Who the hell is calling this late at night?" He grabbed his phone from the dresser on the other side of the room and hit answer as he checked the time on his watch_. Eleven at night? Must be an emergency_, he thought before speaking into the phone. "Hello?"

"Steve? Hi, it's Captain Montgomery from the 12th. Are you available to come in right now?" The voice on the other end of the phone spoke loudly, only alerting Steve to his growing headache. The main reason he was in bed in the first place.

As he cleared his throat, Steve tried to hide the annoyance in his tone as he looked at himself in the mirror that sat atop the dresser before answering. "Well, Captain I…" There was another noise at the other end of the call, and Steve guessed the Captain was taking to someone else. He paused, and as he did so he looked over his reflection in the mirror.

He was a tall man, not slim, yet not big. Steve liked to put the size he that he did have about him down to muscular size due to the regular workouts he would do once a week –if you could call playing squash on a Saturday a workout. His dark brown hair was ruffled, having already been asleep for two hours and he had bags under his hazel eyes.

As the line on the other end went quiet, Steve had a sudden thought and before the Captain could say a word, Steve spoke again. "Wait, why do you want me in? Isn't the night staff on call tonight?"

The detective had started with the Homicide crew at the 12th precinct only three months previous, and since that day he had always worked the bodies that dropped during the day. Any other case, including any weird or strange ones belonged to the on call night staff. Most of who Steve didn't actually know, except a few, including one Detective Beckett. He had spotted her from afar one morning shortly after joining the precinct, and had made it his goal to speak to her since then. Eight weeks later, Steve still hadn't moved any further forward on that goal.

He heard the pause over the phone before the Captain began to speak once more. "We've managed to find some evidence…" He stopped as Steve gasped down the phone.

"You mean, evidence for the case? _Thee case?_" The excitement that began to build deep within Steve was hard to control, and he had to stumble around to find the edge of the bed so he could sit down.

For the past two weeks, Steve and his partner had been working on a Case which had involved a man being murdered and placed on some religious drawing. Neither Steve nor his partner had been able to come up with a reasonable explanation nor had they been able to solve the case. However, to hear that new evidence had emerged, was news that made Steve a very happy Detective.

"Thee Case, Detective. Now, I'm going to need you to come in. Detective Beckett would like to go over some notes on the case with you, if that is alright?"

_Did he just say Beckett?_ Steve paused as he thought to himself. His mouth drying up as he stuttered over his next words to the Captain. "I –you –we… I'll be right there, Captain. Give me thirty minutes," before hanging up the phone and diving into his closet.

Forty-five minutes later, Steve found himself perched at his desk in the 12th Precinct. He sat back in his seat, as his legs sprawled out in front of him, straightened out under the desk. His hands were placed together, palm to palm in front of him, and his fingertips were slowly beginning to tap together. He let his eyes fall on the desk directly in front of his. The nameplate glinted in the light as it streamed down from the fluorescent lights overhead. Steve grinned as the plaque illuminated, showing the name 'Detective Beckett,' in bold black letters, sitting beside it was a half empty cup of coffee. It looked cold and like it had been sitting there for a while. He sat up a little, and tapped the edge of both his forefingers on his chin as he let himself get lost in a train of thought.

Steve had sat at this desk that sat right in front hers since he had arrived. It was like those other Detectives_. Detectives Ryan and Esposito_, he thought to himself as his nose wrinkled in slight jealousy. They shared adjoining desks, and were partners. Maybe if this worked out, he could be partnered with Beckett…_Just maybe_. Steve sighed, and was suddenly reminded of the fact that each Detective here was referred to by their last name, except him. He shrugged to himself and let it pass as he normally would when the thought overcame him. He decided to put it down to being the new guy in the pen.

Steve shuffled a few files that he had collected from the top drawer of his desk, looking for any information that might be useful to the Detective when sharing notes with Beckett. He lifted his eyes just in time to hear the elevator ping and see the doors fly open.

She looked like an angel as she stepped out of the elevator doors, the light hitting her just perfectly. Steve's eyes were suddenly drawn to the belt around her waist. It was glinting in the rays of the light above them, he recognised it from the day he had caught sight of her before. That was when his eyes travelled up and found her face. The smile was bright on her lips as she laughed. He almost had to use his own hand that morning to pull his jaw off the floor.

Steve coughed and pushed some papers around as he tried to hide the fact that he was staring directly at her as she moved away from the elevator in the direction of her desk. Steve could feel himself begin to grow nervous.

"Beckett, He's in interrogation room One." Steve heard the voice of Detective Esposito booming across the bull pen. He whipped around and almost drew the innocent detective a glare as he noticed Beckett steering from her desk and heading for the room in which Esposito had motioned.

As he watched the detective disappear into the room and Steve slumped back into his chair, focusing his gaze on the cup that was sitting on her desk. He had come to notice that this was a regular thing in the morning when he would arrive at work.

Each morning when he arrived at the precinct, Steve couldn't help but let a small groan push past his lips. He would find the half empty cup of coffee sitting on the edge of the detective's desk almost pushing onto his own, every morning after Beckett got off shift and for Steve who was sort of a 'clean freak,' this would bug him, only slightly. Steve narrowed his eyes and pushed himself up from the chair, picking up the mug from Beckett's desk as he passed.

Placing the cup in the sink and turning on the water, Steve paused for a moment before returning to rinse out the cup before drying it and returning it to the place he had found it with a simple yellow sticky note, signed simply 'Steve,' like he had done for the past three weeks. Maybe he was stepping out of line, when he did so, but Steve couldn't stop himself most of the time.

After waiting a further thirty minutes, Steve packed up his things. He'd just have to deal with the notes when he came in the next day. It was getting late, and he was to be back at the precinct early the next morning, so there really was no point in staying. He'd simply arrive slightly earlier than normal to catch Beckett before she left for home.

Back home, Steve kicked off his slippers at the side of his bed, tossed his housecoat over the chair an in the corner and climbed inside his bed, snuggling down into his warm covers. The cool New York air had made him shiver all the way home, and he was glad to be tucked up nice and safe in his bed. Before falling asleep, Steve ensured that his alarm was set for the morning and allowed himself to drift off into a nice dream filled sleep.

The next morning, Steve's eyes flew open and for a moment he was glad he was awake before his alarm. He smiled to himself and allowed an extra five minutes to snuggle back down in order to stay warm. Steve turned as he did and his eyes landed on the alarm clock that was sitting in the middle of his bedside table. His alarm hadn't gone off, and he was now four hours late for work. "DAMMIT," he yelled, and threw himself from the bed, tripping over his slippers that lay strewn from the night before and almost tumbled into the dresser. "OUCH…God, Dammit!"

He made his way into the bathroom, and practically threw his clothes on after grabbing a quick shower and drying. He couldn't be late, not this morning. Not the morning that could possibly change his whole Detective Career. He sighed to himself and flew from the bathroom, and through the rest of the apartment, almost falling down the stairs.

As he got outside onto the rainy sidewalk, Steve threw his hand into the air as he tried to hail a cab. Three splashed by throwing puddles of water in his direction as he gritted his teeth. "Seriously?" He called out as another passed him before stopping a few feet away. Steve ran towards it and climbed into the backseat, before speaking to the driving, telling him the instructions of where he'd like dropped off.

A few minutes later, Steve found himself standing by his desk once more. He exhaled a loud, heavy sigh as he tossed his coat down on the chair and let his whole body sink in after it. He allowed himself to sit there for a moment, catching his breath and made a mental note to never stay up as late as he had the night before. Steve laughed to himself –knowing himself he wasn't one to go to bed late, and grabbed the pile of papers that he had stashed away in the top drawer of his desk, before heading in the direction of Captain Montgomery's office at the other side of the Bull pen.

Steve didn't want to get his hopes up too much, but there was a chance that Detective Beckett may still be around somewhere, or she may have come back after heading home for a few hours. _Well, a guy could only hope, right? _He thought to himself as he stepped in front of the Captains door and lifted a hand to knock.

As his hand made contact with the glass door, Steve caught sight of two people standing in the office besides Montgomery. Steve's brows knitted together as he stood there, staring at Detective Beckett through the glass. She was as pretty as she had been the day before. Steve paused for a moment to note that she was now in different clothing. _She did go home then, _Steve thought to himself as he fixed his eyes on the belt around her waist. _Maybe it was just her favourite belt, _Steve noted as he allowed a small chuckle to escape his lips at his thoughts.

That was when his eyes fixed on the gentleman standing beside Detective Beckett. Steve squinted his eyes and cocked his head to the side looking through his own reflection in the glass, watching the ruggedly handsome man before him. He was tall, rather scruffy looking, and Steve placed him almost instantly as the words fell in a slight gasp from his lips. "Rick Castle!"

Both Detective Beckett and Rick Castle turned their heads as they heard the words escape from Steve's lips. He just stood there, his eyes blinking rapidly as he tried to think of what to do. After taking a large gulp and turning on his heal, Steve turned back and waved the file for them to see. As he did so, he caught a look of amusement on the Captain's face as he talked to the pair. Steve couldn't help but wonder what was happening in that room.

Captain Montgomery nodded when he saw Steve waving the files, and waved him into the room before speaking quickly as he pushed open the door and stepped into the room. "Steve, what is it?"

Steve caught the urgency in the tone of the Captain's voice and stuttered over his words. "I –uh –the things you asked for last night."

"Last night, Steve. I asked for them Last night. It was urgent." Montgomery answered, his arms moving to fold over his chest.

"I –uh… I know, but Detective Beckett was busy last night, Captain, and I was on early call this morning."

"Early call? You are four hours late, Steve." He had a slight knit in his brow as he stared at him, and Steve felt the intimidation. He knew Captain Montgomery was a nice guy, and this was a touchy case, but he couldn't help but feel intimidated by people with authority. This often made Steve laugh as he himself was a person of authority.

"Captain, it's alright. I got the information anyway." The voice rang from across the other side of the room and Steve's head flew around in the direction it had come. "I got them from his Partner first thing this morning. I've taken his permission to take the case as my own." Beckett smiled over at Steve.

Kate Beckett was looking at him, and smiling. _She was smiling at him_. Steve felt his heart give a small jolt before his mouth opened to speak. He was unable to say anything. His mouth and throat were completely dry.

"Well, as long as you got what you need, Detective. Steve, I will give you a shout if we need any more help on the case. Thank you." The Captain nodded his dismissal and Steve's jaw dropped.

"Captain, I thought maybe… Maybe I'd get to work on this case with Beckett?"

Beckett sighed and stole a glance at the captain. "Roy, Can I take Steve instead of him?" She tipped her head and motioned towards Rick Castle who was smiling smugly at Steve. He narrowed his eyes at the writer and smiled as Beckett finished the sentence, watching Castle's smug smile disappear.

"We already agreed, Detective that Mr Castle could be of use. He did of course write the books." The Captain shrugged and looked over at Steve. "We'll give you a call if we need you, Detective. I do believe there are a few pending cases that could use your expertise though."

Steve looked over at Detective Beckett in time to catch a small apologetic shrug of her shoulders and the flash of another smile. Steve sighed and returned her shrug before turning on his heels and heading out of the room, mumbling a general "thank you," to the room before pulling the door closed behind him.

As he marched over to his desk in the Bull Pen, Steve tossed his files down on his desk with a _thud _before slumping into his chair. He laced his fingers together and placed his hands behind his head leaning back as he stared at the ceiling. Steve couldn't help but wonder if he had been here on time this morning, that he would be the one now working with Beckett other than that _writer._

He sneered the word as it came from his lips. _He wasn't even a cop, _he let his thoughts travel as he sighed. _What help would he be really? Beckett would definitely get along further with an actual detective on her team, _he thought. _Right?_

Steve sighed again and gritted his teeth as his eyes fell on the cup that lay on Beckett's desk in front of him. His brow furrowed as he noticed the note he had placed on top now had even more writing on it. Curious, Steve pulled his swivel chair in closer to his desk and leaned over, reaching for the note.

As he grasped it, he turned it around so he could read the scrawled writing.

_Steve, _

_I've no clue who you are, and I don't mean to sound mean, but can you please leave my cup where I left it. It was a present from my girlfriend. I leave it here so no one will touch it._

_It was kind of you to wash it though. _

_Thank you,_

_Detective Ryan._

Steve sunk further into his chair and folded his arms across his chest. The cup that he had thought to be Beckett's and had washed every morning for the past few weeks hadn't even been hers. Basically it had been a waste of time for him. He rolled his eyes at himself as he mulled over his thoughts. Maybe he should just give up on the hopes of working with the finest Detective New York had to offer. It obviously wasn't meant to be.

Annoyed with himself, Steve moved from his desk, deciding to head out for something to eat before he went in search of his partner who was probably in the field working. He grabbed his jacket from the back of his chair as he moved and made his way towards the elevator. Steve could still hear Beckett and the Captain talking about the case in his office. He pressed the button for the elevator, before stepping in and leaning back against the back wall as it moved.

Steve felt like he was failing at his job. Today, he had had a chance to possibly better himself, yet he had been late and lost this opportunity. He had had the chance to help on one of the big cases, a double homicide and with Beckett, yet through a mistake, he had lost that and a case. Maybe homicide wasn't the best idea for him after all.

He sighed softly and folded his arms over his chest as the elevator stopped only one floor down and Steve watched as an important looking man stepped in along with a guy in a fancy suit.

"We'll need to see about getting someone transferred from somewhere. We are a member down, and Vice needs a few undercover operations officers," the man in the suit spoke to the important looking man as he leaned against the side wall of the elevator and an idea flashed into Steve's head.

He had worked Vice when he had first become a cop, and he was certain he could still do it. He smiled to himself and made another mental note to himself to contact the person in charge. Yes, Homicide may have been the wrong idea for him, but Steve knew that a move would be just perfect for him.

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><p>Four months later, Steve found himself standing at his old desk in the 12th Precinct on the Homicide floor. He had returned after spending three years undercover for Vice on one of the largest drug heists the city had seen in over three years and after having completed his task, Steve had returned to collect the rest of his belongings that he had left in his drawer.<p>

He paused as he lifted out the expensive pen his mother had given him when he had made Detective from the top drawer, smiling as he placed it in his pocket. The bull pen was bustling with people moving around, all working on their cases and Steve watched them.

Everyone rushed passed by him and no one even stopped to acknowledge he was there. This didn't bother Steve as much as he had thought. He had known from the beginning that Homicide wasn't for him. He knew he had made the right decision to move to Vice.

When he was positive that he had everything, Steve made his way towards the elevator. As he stole one last glance around the bull pen, before stepping in, Steve's eyes fell on the desk directly in front of his old one. There, sitting on the edge of her desk were two take-out coffee cups. Steve gave a small smile to himself and stepped into the elevator just as the doors began to close.

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><p><strong>AN: Thank you for reading. I did love writing Steve, and I apologize to Everyone who has been waiting for this. This week has been an uber ass to me and life has seriously interfered with my writing time! I really do hope it lived up to your expectations. *cough*I think it sucks*cough***

**Anyway, please let me know what you think.**

**Gaby, thank you for letting me work with Steve and for trusting me to write about him! **

**(I had a totally different ending to this one but didn't wanna write it for the want of not being mean to Steve!_ If I have time I may write it and put it as an alternative ending in another chapter thingy._)**

**What's it.**


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